The red light intersection of state Hwys. 98 and 29 in Danielsville will be named to honor Madison County’s longest-serving sheriff.

Sheriff Dewey Seagraves served Madison County from 1950 to his retirement in 1972.

Senator Frank Ginn is in the process of drafting a resolution to go before the state legislature to name the well-traveled intersection after the long-serving lawman, whose home place coincidentally, was also located near it (behind where Hardees now sits), according to his son, Dewey Roy Seagraves.

Mr. Seagraves said he thinks it is “just wonderful” that his late father and his service to the county is being remembered in such a way.

Ginn said the matter came up when Roy Seagraves told him his son (Sheriff Seagraves’ grandson, also named Dewey) wondered if the county couldn’t do something to honor his grandfather’s long-time service to Madison County.

“I thought, well we had different portions of Hwy. 98 on either side named after newspaperman Jere Ayers and long time state representative Louie Clark, so it seemed natural to consider naming the red light in honor of Sheriff Seagraves,” Ginn said.

And that was before he found out that the sheriff had actually lived right there near the intersection.

“That made it even more appropriate,” Ginn said.

Ginn also said the upcoming roundabout to be constructed at the intersection in 2017 will not change the naming process.

The roundabout construction project that was implemented by the Danielsville City Council in 2012 and voted on by citizens in a referendum, was considered “dead” last summer due to a lack of state funding.

But the project has now been revived due to the Department of Transportation’s new funding source, HB 170, which was approved last year. Funds from the program, called Georgia’s Transportation Funding Act (TFA) took effect last July 1 and is expected to generate an estimated $830 million to $1 billion in sustained annual revenues to fund routine maintenance and capital improvements, according to an October 2015 article in Georgia’s Cities, produced by the Georgia Municipal Association.

DOT commissioner Russell R. McMurry recently traveled the county with commission chairman Anthony Dove, Ginn and county engineer Phil Munro and issued a letter Jan. 12 outlining his plans for county road improvements, which included the previously proposed roundabout in fiscal year 2017, saying the DOT will fund the right of way, utilities and construction.

“I am happy that the state wants to move forward with something to improve our traffic issues,” said Danielsville mayor Todd Higdon, adding that he was especially pleased that the city and county were relieved not only of the financial burden, but also of the time consuming process of land acquisitions, utility relocations and other legwork involved in the first go round to try to get the project going.

Higdon said he has asked the DOT to reconsider the size of the original roundabout, making it bigger than the one originally proposed.
And he said he was also pleased that the intersection would be named for former Sheriff Seagraves.

I'm really glad to see Sheriff Seagraves honored in this way, it is well deserved.
I was elected to replace Sheriff Dewey Seagraves when he retired, it was an honor for me to follow a good man like Sheriff Seagraves.

That's a great honor for Sheriff Dewey Seagraves.
I replaced Sheriff Seagraves in 1973 after he retired!

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